MASTER 

NEGATIVE 
NO.  91-80035 


MICROFILMED  1992 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES/NEW  YORK 


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NATIONAL  ENDOWMENT  FOR  THE  HUMANITIES 


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AUTHOR: 


SCHREIBER,  CARL 
(CARL  FREDERICK) 


TITLE: 


WILLIAM  A.  SPECK 
COLLECTION  OF  .. 

PLACE: 

[NEW  HAVEN] 

DA  TE : 

[1918?] 


1 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MTrROFQRM  TARHFT 


Master  Negative  # 


^     Orip;inal  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


*"■    !   "T 


GA 
112 


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LIBRARY 


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COLLECTIONS 

OF 

YALE  UNIVERSITY 


Pamphlets  descriptive  of  the  important  collections  of  Yale  University  in  Art,  Archic- 
ology,  Literature,  A^atnral  History,  etc.,  are  issued  from  time  to  time.  Number  1, 
^"The  Collection  of  Fossil  Horses,"  was  by  Prof .  P.  S.  Lull.  Number  2,  "'The  Yale 
Babylonian  Collection,'"  7C'as  by  Prof  A.  T.  Clay.  These  pamphlets  7i.nll  be  forwarded 
to  any  address  on  application  to  the  Secretary  of  Yale  University. 


NUMBER  3 


The  V/illiam  A.  Speck  Collection  of  Goethiana 

By  CARL  F.  SCHREIBER,  Ph.D. 


Fig.  I.     After  the  original  silhouette.     On  the  reverse  of  the  mount 

is  the  inscription,  "  Le  conceillez  (sic!)  priv6  de  Weymar 

Goethen  (sic!).     Carlsbad  1786." 


11 


COLLECTIONS  OF  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


THE  WILLIAM  A.  SPECK  COLLECTION  OF  GOETlllANA 


111 


Fig.  2.     The  first  portrait  of  Goethe  published  for  sale.     After  an  anonymous 
etching  of  a  drawing  by  Georg  F.  Schmoll  about  1774.    Reduced. 


The  William  A.  Speck  Collection  of  Goethiana 

By  CARL  F.  SCHREIBER,  Ph.D. 

Instructor  in  German 


Is  the  moral  force  that  Goethe  exerted  on  Emerson, 
Lowell,  Bayard  Taylor  and  all  the  leaders  of  thought 
in  America  two  generations  ago  spent  ?  Has  the  phe- 
nomenal rise  of  a  dominant  science,  luxury,  the 
national  spirit,  the  humanitarian  movement  and 
democracy  raised  an  impassable  barrier  between  our 
generation  and  him,  whom  our  best  traditions 
"acknowledged  as  the  model  for  man,  as  an  intellectual 
being,  to  strive  to  imitate?"  Mr.  Henry  Dwight 
Sedgwick  in  a  recent  remarkable  essay, ^  Forsaken 
God*  gives  answer  to  these  questions  with  a  decided 
negative.  In  the  distractions  of  present  day  life  we 
have  wandered  far  from  the  Goethean  ideal  of  inward 


♦  The  Atlantic  Monthly,  March,  1916. 


peace.  To  strive  for  greater  inward  peace  is  most 
essential  to  the  mental  and  moral  welfare  of  our; 
democracy.  Accordingly  Mr.  Sedgwick  bids  us  pause 
and  get  our  bearings.  In  spite  of  the  progress  of 
three-quarters  of  a  century  "our  neglect  to  follow 
Goethe's  ideal  remains  our  own  fault."  We  mu.'^t 
profit  by  the  criticisms  leveled  against  the  excrescence^' 
of  the  democratic  spirit  "and  return  to  Goethe's 
ideal.  Some  steps  to  be  taken  are  obvious.  First  of 
all  we  must  fully  satisfy  the  democratic  desires  ct 
the  Zeitgeist  by  making  pure  democracy  prevail  in  a'! 
matters  of  politics  and  economics.  Then  when 
democracy  shall  have  received  its  due,  it  must  n^ 
longer  seek  to  lay  its  hands  on  literature,  art,  highc 
education,   pure   science,   philosophy,   manners.     And 


then — when  the  mass  of  men  are  politically  and  eco- 
nomically free — we  must  preserve  the  sacred  fire  of 
intellectual  light  by  setting  apart  a  priesthood,  a  body 
of  intellectual  men  who  shall  worship  the  God  of  truth 
and  him  alone.  Our  professors  at  Harvard,  Yale,  and 
elsewhere  constitute,  or  should  constitute,  such  a 
priesthood." 

More   auspicious   omens   than   these   could   not   be 
attendant    upon    the    transfer    of    one    of    the    most 
remarkable  collections  of  Goethiana  from  its  place  of 
comparative  seclusion  to  the  Library  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity.    Three  years  ago  Mr.  William  A.   Speck  was 
[invited  by  the  Corporation  to  bring  his  collection  from 
Haverstraw,  New  York,  to  deposit  it  with  the  Univer- 
Isity  Library  and  to  become  its  Curator.     The  prime 
[motive  which  led  to  so  ready  an  acceptance  lay  in 
iGoethe's  own  bidding  to  the  collector:     "Die  Werke 
|der  Kunst  gehoeren  nicht  Einzelnen,  sie  gehoeren  der 

rebildeten  Menschheit  an." 
Great  love   for  the  man   Goethe   and  a 

leep  appreciation  of  his  works  were  early 
[awakened  in  Mr.   Speck.     This  love  and 
[appreciation  opened  an  ever-widening  hori- 
Izon  before  him  to  the  end  that  he  became 
filled  with  the  desire  to  obtain  as  real  a  con- 
ception of  Goethe,  as  living  a  picture  of 
'his  genius,  as  possible,  through  a  collection 
of  his  works,  his  pictures,  medallions  and 
[(letters,    in    fact    through    everything    that 
would  bring  back  to  him  in  spirit  the  entire 
Goethe.     To  learn  to  know  Goethe  in  all 
his  varied  activities,  as  poet  and  artist,  as 
man  of  science  and  public  servant — such 
was  Mr.  Speck's  desire. 

Upon  this  broad  foundation  the  collec- 
tion was  to  be  laid.  But  the  difficulties 
which  placed  themselves  in  the  way  of  Mr. 
Speck's  collecting  soon  drove  him  to  set 
narrower  limits  for  his  aspirations.  Thou- 
sands of  miles  separated  him  from  the 
fountain-head  of  his  material.  As  time 
went  on  the  competition  among  German 
I  collectors  of  Goethiana  became  keener.  A 
new  German  pride  and  patriotism  asserted 
itself  to  keep  such  treasures  for  the  Father- 
land. The  prices  began  to  be  doubled  and 
trebled.  Such  new  problems  developed  in 
Mr.  Speck  a  decided  inclination  to  dis- 
criminate in  favor  of  Faustiana  whenever 
opportunity  presented  itself  of  enriching 
the  collection.  Thanks  to  these  conditions, 
which  stood  in  the  way  of  the  original  plan, 
"Mr.  Speck  is  able  to-day  to  afford  the 
Goethe  scholar  not  so  rich  a  collection  of 
Goethiana,  to  be  sure,  as  Mr.  Kippenberg — 
part-owner  of  the  Insel  Verlag — but  he  is 
in  the  position  to  offer  a  far  richer,  more 
complete  and  valuable  material  on  Faust — 
a  material  which  probably  finds  its  peers 
only  in  the  well  known  Bode-Tille  and 
Frankfurt  Goethehaus  collections. 

Within  the  confines  of  a  private  dwelling 


it  was  quite  impossible  to  keep  careful  watch  over  the 
growth  of  the  collection.  ]\lany  valuable  beg'nnings 
were  allowed  to  lie  dormant,  because  from  their  places 
of  safe-keeping,  they  could  make  but  fcebie  appeals 
for  an  enrichment  or  completion.  The  present  hon^e  of 
the  collection  has  removed  this  very  serious  obstacle. 
The  encouragement  and  faithful  support  of  the  library 
staff  has  had  its  quickening  effect.  Mr.  Speck  has 
returned  to  his  first  love — his  splendidly  conceived 
scheme.  With  renewed  energy  he  has  set  to  work  to 
fill  in  the  gaps  here  and  there.  Day  for  day  he  is 
striving  systematically  to  gather  materials  relating  to 
every  phase  of  Goethe's  life.  The  splendid  leads 
which  he  laid  down  many  years  ago  are  receiving  their 
long  denied  attention  and  are  gradually  rounding  into 
completion.  Unconsciously  Mr.  Speck  has  in  his  life- 
work  followed  the  precepts  laid  down  by  Goethe  him- 
self :    "Zum  einzelnen  Sammeln  gehoert  Liebe,  Kennt- 


(^^^^'^r'rz  .^^^:r^^^*^      f2'c^^4Ft 


-r 
AM 


V^t. 


ACHT  LM>Z>\AXZ1GSTKN  AUGUST 

I)es  Mciisclicii  Tage  «ind  verfloilitca, 
Die  Rchdnsteij  Giiler  angefoclilcii, 
IJs  li  iibl   .sii }i  «uch  der  fre^^le  Blick ; 
Du  waiulelst  eiiisani  iiiul   \  crdrossen , 
Der  Tag  verscliwinUct  UHgojiosscn 
In   nbgesoiideilnn   licsi'liiiW. 

Wciij^  Frcuiiilos  Anllitz  dir  bejjpij"'''  • 
S<i  bisl  du  glcicli  bcfie_\t,  ^o»»-j;nfi . 
'Gemoinsani  frcujtt  du  ili»h  drr  'IJmt. 
Eiit  zwej-ter  koinnit  .sit  h   aiizUM'iihe<«st'ii , 
Mitwirken  will  fi  ,    aiiljirnicNsen . 
Veitirejfachl  so  »icli  Kraft  und  Raili 

Von  iiuaierm  Drang  unangrfoibten 
Bleibt  FiTunde  so  in  Eiii*  > eilloililfn . 
Dmm  Tage  goiinct  heitcin  Blick !. 
Das  Beste  schaiTet  unverdrii.'scn; 
WahhvoUen  uiwrer  Zei^enosNen 
Das  bleibt  suleCxt  erprobUs  UUiok 


j^^i^ 


"igtmr^^i^^^ 


Z^^/^^    ^\ 


-^ 


Fig.  3.     A  birthday  poem  autographed  and  inscribed  by 

Goethe.     Reduced. 


IV 


COLLECTIONS  OF  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


THE  WILLIAM  A.  SPECK  COLLECTION  OF  GOETIIIANA 


d&  iu  2Jl  CCe  oe  -Ccip  j  i  c 


p  comnciixi  c    ncpx^mc. 


\ 


Gustav  Schwab),  down  to  Goethe's  Poet- 
ische  iind  Prosaische  IVerke  1836- 1837 
edited  by  Eckermann  and  Riemer.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  all  the  more  recent 
editions  are  available. 

To  begin  with  the  least  appreciated  and 
least  known  activity  of  the  poet,  we  find 
that  Goethe  as  a  man  of  science  is  well 
represented  in  the  collection.  Splendid 
copies  of  the  first  editions  of  Die  Meta- 
morphose der  Pflansen,  an  inscribed  copy 
of  Soret's  translation  of  the  same  into 
French,  Die  Farbenlehre  (with  the  exces- 
sively rare  titlepage,  dated  1808  inserted), 
Zur  Naturwissenschaft  Ueherhaiipt  and 
Zur  Morphologie  surrounded  by  a  mass  of 
criticism  and  commentary,  make  a  fine  ex- 
hibition of  the  poet  in  the  field  of  science. 

The  other  activities  of  Goethe  are  so 
interlocked  and  are  represented  in  such 
varied  forms,  that  it  has  seemed  imprac- 
ticable to  group  them.  The  collection  con- 
tains many  rare  and  unique  items.  A  few  of 
the  most  interesting  of  these  are :  a  splendid 
silhouette  of  Goethe  (Fig.  i),  dated  Karls- 
bad 1786,  which  seems  to  have  originated 
during  the  days  immediately  preceding  his 
departure  for  Italy;  an  anonymous  etching 
of  Goethe  after  Georg  F.  SchmoU  (Fig.  2), 
the  first  portrait  of  the  young  poet  offered 
for  general  sale;  an  original  drawing  by 
Goethe  in  blue  and  gray  of  an  Italian  land- 
scape; a  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  a  coat  of 
arms  also  by  Goethe;  a  copy  of  Hermann 
\und  Dorothea  inscribed  by  the  poet  to 
Staatsrat  von  Koehler  on  March  third, 
1819;     signed    and    dated    copies    of    two 


lOANNIS   TRI^ 

I   E   M  1  I     A    B  B  A  T  IS     S  P   A   N  H  1= 

mends lipillobrum  familiarium  Iibriduoaddiucr 
io$  Gcfinanix  IVincipcs»  I:pikopos,accru 
dituncprxrtarucsuiros, quorum 
(Jaulogus  lubjcctui  ell. 


CAVTVM    EST    PVBIl  CO    EDiCTO 

CxfarciMaicfUriSjnccjiiisaliLninipumuia* 

qiuruor  innos  impninat. 

HAGANOA-    FX    OFPrClNA 

I'cuiBrubichr],  « >  1  0. 


Fig.   17.     Title-page  ol  the  first  book  in  which  the  natiie  of  Johann 
Faust,  magfician,  appears  in  print.     Reduced. 


Fig.  4.     After  an  original  etching  by  Goethe  made  while  he  was  a  student 

in  Leipzig,  1768.     Reduced. 


nis,  und  gewisser  Mut,  den  Augenblick  zu  ergreifen, 
da  denn  ohne  grosses  Vermoegen  mit  verstaendig- 
maessigem  Aufwand,  eine  bedeutende  Vereinigung 
manches  Schoenen  und  Guten  sich  erreichen  laesst." 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  enjoying  the  collection  with  Mr. 
Speck  as  guide  to  a  dry  and  hasty  enumeration  of  the 
many  rare  and  interesting  items.  At  best  I  can  only 
mention  by  title  a  few  of  the  splendid  volumes,  hint  at 
the  existence  of  fine  prints  and  beautiful  pictures  and 
but  casually  refer  to  the  medals  and  manuscript 
material.  To  Mr.  Speck  every  item  is  dear ;  for  him 
every  number  breathes  a  pleasant  memory.  An 
arabesque  of  anecdote  and  story  surrounds  each  and 
every  item  of  the  collection.  Space  will  not  permit  to 
cast  even  a  fleeting  glance  into  the  memoirs  of  a  col- 
lector ;  it  is  our  purpose  here  to  show  the  working 
equipment  and  the  opportunities  for  research  afforded 
by  this  great  store  of  Goethiana. 

The  collection  has  not  been  laid  down  in  a  hap- 
hazard manner.    It  has  reached  its  present  flourishing 


condition  through  a  careful  study  of  the  handbooks 
and  bibliographies  relating  to  Goethe.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising then  that  this  department  of  the  collection 
offers  the  student  a  practically  complete  array  of  the 
really  valuable  works  of  reference,  from  the  earliest 
attempts  of  Peters,  Petzholdt,  Hirzel,  Unfiad,  Engel, 
Appell  and  Goedeke,  to  the  more  recent  works  of 
Rollett,  Zarncke,  Tille,  Myer,  Schulte-Strathaus  and 
Kippenberg.  In  passing,  let  me  emphasize,  that 
Hirzel's  famous  book  is  present  in  all  four  editions ; 
1848,  1862,  1874,  1884.  Quite  wortliy  of  mention  in 
connection  with  these,  is  a  collection  of  many  hundreds 
of  antiquarian  and  auction-sales  catalogues  containing 
Goethiana.  This  branch  of  the  collection  is  further 
strengthened  by  a  remarkable  sequence  of  the  collected 
works.  The  pirated  as  well  as  the  official  printings 
are  on  the  shelves  beginning  with  Himburg's  three 
volumes  of  1777  on  through  Schmieder  1778,  Goeschen 
1790,  linger  1792- 1800,  Gotta  1806- 1808  (each  volume 
bearing  on  the  titlepage  the  autograph  of  the  poet 


Some  rare  first  editions  of  Goethe's  works  exclusive  of  Faust. 


VI 


COLLECTIONS  OF  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


THE  WILLIAM  A.  SPECK  COLLECTION  OF  GOETIIIANA 


vu 


Fig.  7.     Faust.     After  an  original  water-color  by 
A.  Kretchmer.     Reduced. 


poems,  one  of  which  is  inscribed  to  Doris  Zelter  (Fig. 
3)  ;    the    manuscript    of    the    poem,    An    Friedrich 
Foerster;    the    127    page    manuscript    of    Foerster's 
Erinneriingen  an  Goethe  and  several  letters  to  and  by 
Foerster  referring  to  his  association  with  Goethe ;  two 
original  etchings  by  the  young  poet,  one  dedicated  to 
his  father,  the  other  to  Doctor  Hermann  of  Leipzig 
(Fig.   4),   and   a  translation   of    Goethe's   Dauer  im 
Wechsel    in    the    hand    of    Margaret    Fuller    Ossoli. 
Another  very  interesting  bit  of  Americana  is  the  ten 
dollar    note    issued    in    Northampton,    Pennsylvania, 
bearing  the  portraits  of  Goethe.  Klopstock,  Herschel 
and  Haydn  (Fig.  5).     One  of  the  most  highly  prized 
of  all  the  gems  is  the  poem  in  Goethe's  own  hand. 
Den  Funfzehn  engUschen  Freunden.     This  poem  of 
eight  verses  was  written  by  w^ay  of  thanks  to  Thomas 
Carlyle  and  his  younger  brother  John,  Walter  Scott, 
Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  Eraser,  Lord  Leveson-Govver 
and  eight  others  for  a  small  gold  seal  which  they  had 


ordered   made   with    the   motto,    Ohne   Hast,   aber 
ohne  East,  for  Goetlie's  eighty-second  birthday. 

Three  state  documents  respectively  signed  by 
Goethe  in  his  capacity  of  Minister  of  War,  Minister 
of  State  and  Minister  of  Education  give  a  ghmpse 
of  his  activities  as  a  public  servant. 

If  we  add  to  autograph  letters  of  Goethe  to 
Bertuch,  Meyer,  Boettiger,  etc.,  letters  by  Schiller 
and  his  wife,  the  Herders,  Wieland,  Knebel,  the 
Grand  Duke  Karl  August,  Klopstock,  Kanzler  von 
Mueller,  Eckermann,  Riemer  and  many  others,  we 
get  an  interesting  vista  of  the  literary  Weimar  of 
Goethe's  day.  While  the  greater  number  of  auto- 
graph letters  is,  of  course,  of  German  origin,  there 
are  fine  specimens  of  Carlyle,  Coleridge,  George 
Henry  Lewes,  the  philosopher  Whewell,  George 
Bancroft,  Bayard  Taylor  and  others  all  referring 
to  Goethe  or  to  Faust.  Carlyle's  autograph  is 
further  represented  in  a  unique  way.  The  collec- 
tion possesses  a  card  of  admittance  to  Carlyle's 
famous  lectures  on  the  history  of  literature  signed 
in  the  author's  own  hand.  When  this  little  card 
is  grouped  with  the  three  first  printings  of  the^  lec- 
tures, issued  in  Bombay,  London  and  New  York, 
the  combination  forms  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
items  (Fig.  6). 

Besides  all  these  there  are  original  drawmgs, 
water-colors  and  etchings  by  Georg  Melchior  Kraus, 
Carl  Lieber,  Lavater  and  Heinrich  Naecke  among 
Goethe's  contemporaries,  as  well  as  most  interest- 
ing drawings  and  sketches  by  Lucas  Kranach  and 
Woldemar  Friedrich  among  the  more  recent  Ger- 
man artists.  Special  mention  should  be  made  in 
this  connection  of  a  series  of  eighteen,  unpublished, 
highly  noteworthy  water-colors  to  Faust  by  Pro- 
fessor A.  Kretschmer  of  the  University  of  Leipzig 

(Figs.  7,  8,  9).  

The  collection  of  medals  and  medallions  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  complete  outside  of  Germany. 
Numbering  about  150  Goethe  medals  in  all,  the  col- 
lection includes  with   few  exceptions,  all  the  rare 
early  medallic  portraits  of  the  poet  and   a   large 
number  of  recent  casts  and  strikes.     From  Doctor 
Carl  Ruland's  great  collection  comes  the  fine  specimen 
of    the    Boltschauser    medal    of    the    young    Goethe, 
struck  about  1775   (Figs.  10,  11)   and  the  apparently 
unique  carnelian  glass  intaglio,  fashioned  after  Bovy's 
celebrated  medal  of  the  poet    (Fig.   12).     From  the 
same  source  comes  also  a  galvano-plastic  reproduction 
of  the  celebrated  clay  medallion  made  by  Johann  Peter 
Melchior  in  1775,  which  really  important  little  work 
of  art  now  hangs  in  the  Grand  Ducal  Palace  in  Tiefurt. 
This  galvano  is  one  of  seven  which  were  made  on  the 
order  of  Karl  Alexander  of  Sachsen-Weimar.    While 
it  is  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  account  of  this 
fascinating   section   of    the    Speck   collection   here,    it 
would  be  an  injustice  to  leave  the  subject  without  re- 
ferring to  the  fine  specimens  of  all  the  jubilee  medal > 
of   1825,  as  well  as  perfect  examples  of   the  noted 
medallions    by     Posch,     Schadow,     David    d'Angers, 
Fischer,  Mueller,  Bosselt,  Scharflf  and  Kowarzik. 
And  still  it  is  the  rows  upon  rows  of  splendid  old 


books  that  line  the  walls  of  the  Goethe  room  in  the 

library,  which  gives  the  collection  its  power  to  serve 

*  the  needs  of  all  those  who  would  delve  deep  into  the 

<  life  and  spirit  of  the  poet.     They  represent  hundreds 

'  of  most  interesting  and  valuable  items.     Of  excessive 

rarity  is  the  Positiones  Juris,  that  constituted  Goethe's 

Doctor's   Dissertation    (Fig.    13).      Close   seconds   in 

rarity  are  such  items  as  the  long  strip  of  paper  bearing 

the  song,  IVir  kommen  axis  dem  Sonnenland  and  the 

Pracht  Ausgahe  of  Das  Roemische  Carnival  with  the 

quaint  hand-colored  plates.     Adding  to  the  latter  work 

an  autograph   letter  of   Goethe's   to   Bertuch,   which 

I    relates   entirely   to   the   publication   of   the   book,   we 

obtain  an  item  of  unqualified  uniqueness  (Figs.  14,  15). 

'    Among  other  items  worthy  of  special  note  are  first 

I   editions,    generally    uncut    and     sometimes     in     the 

unopened    state,    of    Clavigo,    Stella,    Egmont,    Die 

Geschwister,      Jahrmarktsfest     zu      Plunder  sweilen, 

Scherz,   List   und   Rache,    Tasso,    Pandora,   the   two 

Meisters,  Die  Wahlverwandtschaften,  Die  Propylaen, 

Ueber  Kunst  und  Altertum,  Dichtung  und  Wahrheit 

and  so  on  and  on  in  splendid  array  (Fig.  16). 

j     The  popular  legend  of  Reineke  Fuchs  with  its  many 

{Variations  is  represented  by  a  splendid  row  of  rare 

land  interesting  editions.     Of  these  mention  should  be 

llmade  of:    Ander  Tyl  des  Bucks  Schimpff  und  Ernst, 

3)rinted  in  Frankfurt  in  1543,  which  was  the  first  ver- 

ion  in  modern  high  German  ;  Schopper's  Latin  version 


^^^^^^^"""^^ 

■    '^ 

j^K 

^^Htt ^ ,  "^  ^^^^^hM^  H^M^^^^^^^^^k              B     ^^ 

1 

'--■V ' r                  M^^^^^m 

f 

k 

Fig.  9.     Die  Hexe.     After  an  original  water-color  by 
A.    Kretchmer.     Reduced. 


Fig.  8.     Mephistopheles  (his  first  appearance).     After  an 
original  water-color  by  A.  Kretchmer.     Reduced. 


of  1578;  Zacharias  Dosen's  edition  of  1660;  Joachym 
Wilden's  printing  of  1662 ;  an  immaculate  copy  in  the 
uncut  state  of  Reineke  de  Vos  mit  dem  Koker,  WuU- 
fenbuettel  171 1 ;  Johann  C.  Gottsched's  edition  of  1752 
followed  by  the  earliest  printings  of  Goethe's  adapta- 
tion. The  English  version  with  its  continuations  is 
represented  by  such  titles  as ;  The  Most  Delectable 
History  of  Reynard  the  Fox,  The  Most  Pleasant  and 
Delightful  History  of  Reynard  the  Fox  the  Second 
Part  and  The  Shifts  of  Reynardine  the  Son  of  Reynard 
the  Fox,  printed  in  London  1701,  1681  and  1684  and 
so  on  down  to  William  Morris'  beautiful  book  pub- 
lished by  the  Kelmscott  Press  in  1892. 

We  now  come  to  that  division  of  the  collection 
which  is  composed  of  Faustiana.  That  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  give  in  a  few  words  an  adequate  idea  of 
such  a  Buecherei,  made  up  of  sixteen  or  seventeen 
hundred  items,  is  very  evident.  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
content  myself  therefore  with  a  bare  enumeration  of 
some  of  the  great  rarities  and  landmarks  which  make 
the  collection  the  interesting  and  valuable  thing  it  is. 

Beginning  w4th  that  earliest  of  the  Faustsplitter  the 
Ep'istolae  Familiaris  of  Johannis  Trithemius  (Fig. 
17),  printed  in  Hagenau  1536.  of  which  very  scarce 


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Fig.  12,      Intaglio. 
Apparently  unique. 


Figs,    io,   ii. 


Obverse  and  reverse  of  Boltschauser's  medal  of 
Goethe,  struck  about  1775. 


Ibook  there  is  a  remarkably  perfect  copy,  tlie  collection 
embraces  most  of  the  valuable  publications  supplying 
)ur  knowledge  of  Faustus  down  to  recent  date.  If  I 
lention  Johannes  Mennel's  Locoriim  Communium 
ollectanca  1563,  Luther's  Colloquia  1567,  Johannis 
iVierus'  De  Prestigiis  Daemonum  1568,  the  Theatrum 
^iabolorum  1569,  Ludovicus  Lavater's  De  Spectris 
570  and  its  first  translation  into  German  1670, 
.ercheimer's  Christlich  Bedenken  1585,  Goedelmann's 
'on  Zaenhercrn  Hexen  und  Unholden  1592  and 
>elrio's  Disquisitionum  Magicarum  of  1599,  I  will 
lave  given  some  idea  of  the  wealth  of  the  early  pub- 
lications bearing  on  this  subject.  By  way  of  complete- 
Jess  I  would  mention  here  a  rich  section  consisting  of 
Faust  folklore,  myth  and  allied  subjects  such  as; 
Virgilius,  Theophilus,  Twardowski,  Don  Juan,  Due 
Me  Luxemburg  and  Marieken  voti  Nymwegen. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  copy  of  Spies'  Faustbuch 
excepting  in  the  form  of  a  facsimile  and  modern 
reprints,  but  there  is  on  the  other  hand  a  remarkable 
array  of  Widmann's  book.  First  of  all  there  is  the 
scarce  first  edition  of  1599,  the  first  edition  of  Pfitzer's 
redaction  of  the  work  printed  in  1674,  followed  by 
he   Endter   reprints  of    1681,    1695   and    171 1.     Das 


Faustbuch  des  Christlich  Meyncndcn  is  represented  by 
only  one  edition,  undated,  but  printed  around  1790. 

Among  the  copies  of  the  early  English  Faust-books 
in  the  collection,  the  most  interesting  are  those  of 
1680  and  169 1,  besides  an  undated  one  printed  by 
C.  Brown  about  1700. 

The  so-called  Altes  Volksschauspiel  voni  Doctor 
Faust  is  present  in  practically  all  the  printed  versions, 
not  excepting  the  excessively  scarce  edition  based  on 
Geiselbrecht's  manuscript,  which  w^as  issued  in  Berlin 
in  1832  in  24  privately  printed  and  numbered  copies 
(Fig.  18). 

Marlowe's  Faustus  is  representea  only  by  modern 
editions  the  most  valuable  of  which  is  perhaps  the 
rare  first  issue  of  Wilhelm  Mueller's  translation  into 
German,  printed  in  1818.  Will  Mountford's  Life  and 
Death  of  Doctor  Faustus  is  represented  by  such  early 
printings  as  1720  and  1735. 

If  all  these  divisions  already  mentioned  are  inter- 
esting and  remarkable,  it  is  nevertheless  with  special 
pride  that  I  now  turn  to  the  section  devoted  to  Goetlie's 
Faust.  It  is  quite  safe  to  assert  that  no  such  complete 
line  of  the  early  editions  and  their  variants  could  be 
got  together  again. 


Fig.   5.     Note  issued  by  the  Northampton  Bank  in  1836  bearing  a  portrait  of  Goethe 

in  lower  left-hand  corner.     Reduced. 


I 

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Fig.  13.     Title-page  of  Goethe's  Doctor's  Dissertation.     Reduced. 


The  Fragment  of  1790  is  present  in  nine  copies, 
including  both  issues  of  the  Separat  Ansgabe  which 
vary  in  that  the  one  has  the  last  three  lines  of  page  144 
repeated  on  page  145.  There  are  also  corresponding 
copies  of  Volume  VII  of  the  Goeschen  edition  of  the 
Schriften  and  several  varying  title-pages,  Faust,  ein 
Trauer spiel  with  the  date  1787,  etc.  The  state  of  these 
several  copies  varies  greatly.  Thus  the  extremely  rare 
Sonder  Aiisgahe  of  1790  without  the  repetition  of  the 
last  line  of  page  144  is  represented  by  an  uncut  copy 
(Fig.  19)  and  one  of  the  issues  bearing  the  date  1787 
is  in  the  original  sheets.  Then  follows  Goeschen's 
edition  of  1791. 

The  complete  first  part  Is  represented  by  both  issues 
of  the  year  1808  and  the  very  scarce  second  edition 

of  1809. 

There  are  about  one  hundred  other  German  print- 
ings of  the  play.  Among  them  I  should  mention  as 
especially  noteworthy  the  two  issues  of  the  edition  of 


1825  giving  the  two  versions  Mein  Leid 
ertoent  and  Mein  Lied  ertoent  m  the 
Zueigniing,  and  a  series  of  editions  of 
the  Zweiter  Tlieil.  First  there  is  Vol- 
ume IV  of  the  Ausgabe  Letzter  Hand 
containing  the  first  printing  of  the 
Helena,  then  Volume  I  of  the  Taschen- 
aiisgabe  der  Nachgelassenen  IVerke  con- 
taining Faust,  Zzveiter  Theil  printed  in 
1832,  Volume  I  of  the  Grosse  Ausgabe 
issued  in  1833  and  finally  three  copies 
in  as  many  states  of  the  Sonder  Ausgabe 
of  the  same  year  (Fig.  20). 

The  Buehnenbearbeitungen  and  the 
Fortsetzungen  by  other  hands  are  not 
lacking.  Among  the  latter  should  be 
especially  mentioned  the  rare  Fortsetz- 
ung  des  Faust  von  Goethe,  der  Tragoedic 
Zzueiter  Theil.  Berlin,  1823,  by  C.  C.  L. 
Schoene. 

The  translation  of  Faust  into  other 
languages  makes  a  most  interesting  and 
valuable  collection  by  itself.  Special 
stress  has,  of  course,  been  laid  on  Eng- 
lish and  French  translations,  although 
there  are  versions  in  many  other 
languages  including  Danish,  Frisian, 
Hebrew,  Russian,  Hungarian,  Swedish. 
Norwegian,  Japanese,  etc.  Of  the 
French  versions  there  are  twenty  odd 
including  most  of  the  beautifully  illus- 
trated editions,  the  chief  and  most 
valuable  one  being  that  by  Stapfer  illus- 
trated by  Eugene  Delacroix,  issued  in 
1828.  The  series  of  English  transla- 
tions is  practically  complete  and  with 
but  one  or  two  exceptions  is  composed 
of  first  editions.  They  form  a  body  of 
books  that  could  scarcely  be  gathered 
again.  Whenever  the  translator  ha> 
made  noteworthy  changes  in  his  work, 
the     several     editions    exhibiting    these 


MR.  CARIA  UrS  LKCTl  RKS 

^n  ti)t  fti«ton>  of  litnatmr. 


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17,  KDWAIU'N  STItKET,  r.)UT\UN  s^l.vlU; 


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Fig.  6.     An  original  card  of  admission  signed  and 
numbered  by  Thomas  Carlyle.     Reduced. 


THE  WILLIAM  A.  SPECK  COLLECTION  OF  GOETHIANA 


XI 


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Fig.   18.     Title-page  of  the  first  privately  printed  version  of  the  Puppet- 
Play.     One  of  twenty-four  copies  issued.     Slightly  enlarged. 


Fig.  20.     German  editions  of  Goethe's  Faust  printed  during  the  poet's  lifetime. 


\n 


COLLECTIONS  OF  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


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it 

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cliaiiges  have  been  studiously  added. 
In  the  case  of  Bayard  Taylor's  work 
for  instance,  Mr.'  Speck  has  striven 
to  run  down  even  the  mere  Titel  Aus- 
'^abcn,  oftentimes  exhibiting  there- 
fore simply  a  change  of  imprint. 
Other  Faust  items  of  interest  from 
among  the  manuscript  material  are 
the  complete  manuscript  of  Birch's 
translation  of  Faust,  sections  of  the 
manuscripts  of  Bayard  Taylor's  and 
Frank  Claudy's  translations  and  ten 
pages  of  a  fragmentary  rendition  of 
Faust  into  English  by  George  Henry 

Borrow. 

That    the   collection    contains   hun- 
dreds of  Faust  commentaries  and  re- 
views goes  without  saying,  but  it  is 
surely    more    uncommon    to    find    an 
almost    perfect   row   of   Faust   works 
by    other    authors.      Thus    Klinger's 
Faiists  Lehen,   Tliatcn  tuid  Hoellcn- 
faJirt  forms   a  fine  series,  which   in- 
cludes the  St.  Petersburg  editions  of 
1 791  and  T794,  the  Karlsruhe  print  of 
1792,  the  first  French  translation  pub- 
lished   in    Amsterdam    in    1798,    the 
Stockholm    version    in    1801,    an    un- 
opened    copy    of     George     Borrow's 
translation  into  English  issued  anony- 
mously in  London  in  1825  and  several 
other  editions  in  German  and  English. 
But  few  of  the  Faust  versions  by 
other  hands  than  Goethe's  have  eluded 
Mr.  Speck's  vigilant  pursuit,  and  it  is 
therefore   impossible  to   record   them 
all  here.     In  passing  I  cannot  refrain 
from   mentioning   such   rare   volumes 
as  Schinck's  Johann  Faust,  cine  Dra- 
matlsche  PJiantasie,  Wolfram's  Faust, 
cm  Dramatischcs  GcdicJit,  the  anony- 
mous Dcr  Travcstierte  Doktor  Faust 
and 
ii\inde  dcr  Zeit 

If  we  add  to  this  array  of  books 
and  manuscripts  a  noteworthy  collec- 
tion of  music  to  Faust  and  other 
works  of  the  poet  as  well  as  a  valu- 
able display  of  theatre  programs  and 
librettos  of  Faust  productions,  we  be- 
gin to  realize  with  what  completeness 
the  history  of  Doctor  Faustus,  the 
legends   about   this   old   conjurer,   the 


Harro   Harring's  Faust  hn   Gc- 


FiG.   19.     Title-page  of  the  first  edition  of  Goethe's  Faust,  Ein  Fragment 

A  remarkable  copy  in  the  inicut  state. 


^ ^   ^_   J ,    ...„    cabalistic   and      before  Goethe,  by  Goethe  and  his  contemporaries  a 

mystical  literature,  the  whole  treatment  of  the  Faust      well  as  by  his  successors  to  the  present  day,  has  beei. 
theme  in  drama  and  in  story,  in  picture  and  in  song,      preserved  for  us  in  an  almost  unbroken  Hne. 


Pt 


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